Interview with Natalie Powell, Founder of Parcel London

Parcel London specialise in beautifully curated gifts for women and men. With an extensive range of parcels to choose from, they also offer a bespoke and corporate service. We sat down and chatted with Natalie Powell founder of Parcel London to find out her exciting plans for the next six months.

What inspired the creation of Parcel London?

Planning and sourcing gifts for people has always been something I love to do. I pride myself on giving the best presents and spend a long time wrapping and presenting things in a way that I’d love to receive them. Parcel felt like a natural direction to take once I’d committed to setting up a business of my own. My background in Fashion, most recently at Net-A-Porter, definitely inspired the luxe nature of the gifts themselves, there’s something very special about being treated to something you might not buy for yourself.

Your packaging is beautiful and super chic. Did it take you long to create the branding and packaging concepts?

Thank you! I was certain about my vision of the overall style from the very beginning, its reflective of the minimal scandi inspired aesthetic that I love. Once I started working with a great Graphic Designer – Amy Wicks – she had the layout and logo done very quickly. The part which took forever was the shade of pink, there’s such a fine line between certain shades which make all the difference, so finding the perfect dusty pantone was a laborious task! I also had to trial countless box prototypes, the final boxes are crisp and sturdy which was very important to the overall feeling of luxury you get when you receive a Parcel.

Tell me about your bespoke services?

As well as offering the pre-curated gift boxes filled with presents to fit a certain theme or type of person, we also create bespoke Parcels. These are created via a one-to-one concierge style service where customers can choose from the gifts on our website to create their own Parcel, or request something totally new which we will source on a case-by-case basis. We also work on large scale bespoke bookings for weddings and events, where customers need numerous Parcels including branded or personalised items.

Very excited to see that you have just launched parcels for men?

Yes, very exciting! In early December we launched the men’s parcel options onto the website, along with Christmas themed Parcels. We’ve been inundated with requests to make ‘for him’ options, so we’ve done everything we can to get them live in time for Christmas. They’re themed around certain men from different areas in London, for example the ‘Mr Chelsea’ Parcel includes a handmade leather card holder, a chic candle and a weekend away wash kit, while the ‘Mr Shoreditch’ includes a Leather notebook and pen and a sneaker cleaning kit. We’ll be launching with a new box option in a soft grey too, so we really have got everyone covered for Christmas now!

What are your plans for Parcel London for the next six months?

I’ll certainly be looking to grow the team in order to focus some more of my energy into new brand collaborations and partnerships, we have some exclusive products and Parcels in the pipe line too which will be great. I’m also looking at the options for a pop up shop so customers can see and feel the products, it’s always useful to interact with customers in person to get feedback and decide how to grow and change as a business.

Lastly, what are your favourite flowers?

I have so many – I’m flower obsessed! I think it would have to be a pale blush peony. My house has been full of white and blush roses for the last year as I’m hand pressing confetti for my wedding in June – I’ll be glad to enjoy some other flowers once that jobs over!